There was certainly frustration seeping out of William Eklund on Thursday morning as he spoke to the media on an ankle scooter, but there were also smiles, and laughs.
Eklund injured his ankle during the Senators’ home-opener on Oct. 8 — just four games into his tenure with Ottawa, who acquired him in a June trade from San Jose. The Sharks were in town for their lone trip of the season to Ottawa, a game that Eklund had been excited for since the trade.
“Obviously, didn’t want to be injured, but [stuff] happens in this game, and you know, I’ll try to recover as fast as I can, and as good as I can,” said Eklund.
The 24-year-old had a full offseason of training this past summer — unlike the one before, when his offseason training regimen was impacted due to a wrist injury suffered at the World Championships. He had a goal and an assist through his first four games as a Sen.
“It felt great. Obviously, I haven't had had that [opportunity to train in the summer] in a while. I felt like the full summer helped me a lot. I felt really good coming to training camp, felt good in the first couple games here, and that makes it even more frustrating,” said Eklund.
“But you know, it's part of the game, as I said, you just have to be mentally in it, so just trying to do my best here.”
A few familiar faces popped by and said hello during Eklund’s media session in between the home and visiting locker rooms, including former teammates, and the Sharks’ medical staff.
It was supposed to be a happier visit, though, part of a fun month which would have seen Eklund face off against his younger brother Victor last Thursday when his Islanders came to town, and a month which would have been capped off with an Oct. 31 return to San Jose.
“Yeah, I mean, you can’t really control this stuff. I would [have] loved to do that, obviously, when the schedule came out, these were games you wanted to play. It sucks a little bit, but, now we’re here, and I’ve got to accept it, so it is what it is,” said Eklund.
Eklund underwent surgery on Oct. 14 to repair a tendon in his ankle. Asked about a recovery timeline, Eklund said that it was not a question for him. His original timeline, given by Travis Green, was 10-12 weeks from that date.
“I’m just trying to do my best every day to get back to the guys,” said Eklund.
Eklund was also asked about the potential of the Senators and Sharks playing each other in a future Stanley Cup final by a visiting Sharks reporter.
“Yeah, I would love that,” laughed Eklund. “I would love that.”
